Ebola screening at Birmingham Airport scaled back

There were 22 confirmed cases of the virus in Guinea and four in Sierra Leone in the week to July 19 Credit: PA

Screening for Ebola at Birmingham Airport is being scaled back as the risk from the outbreak declines.

Public Health England (PHE) said on-site screening teams will continue to be based at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, where more than 90% of people from the affected countries arrive.

But Birmingham and Manchester airports and St Pancras Eurostar terminal in London will switch to the arrangements already in place at all other ports of entry to the UK, which see passengers from affected countries self refer and carry out a risk assessment by phone if felt necessary.

PHE's director for health protection, Professor Paul Cosford, said:

PHE said over the past year it has screened 9,785 people at UK borders, tested 257 people for Ebola and monitored 610 individuals who have returned from west Africa, where the disease has killed more than 11,000 people.

There were 22 confirmed cases of the virus in Guinea and four in Sierra Leone in the week to July 19, according to figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Liberia reported no new cases.